Trailing 2-0 to Mountain Home in the semifinals of the Class 6A state volleyball tournament Thursday night, Russellville put away the Lady Bombers by winning the next three sets and earned a berth in Saturday’s 6A state championship match at 5 p.m. at Valley View High School. RHS won 26-28, 18-25, 25-14, 25-18, 15-13.

Russellville (24-11), the No. 4 seed from the 6A-East, will play Greenwood, the fifth seed from the East and tournament host, for the 6A state title. The Lady Bulldogs beat Marion to advance to Saturday’s championship volleyball match.

Both teams went back and forth in the opening set and wouldn’t let one get ahead by more than two points. The Lady Cyclones had two opportunities to win the first set, but Mountain Home was able to tie both times, 21-21 and 26-26. The Lady Bombers scored to take a 27-26 lead, then RHS was called for a violation that gave the deciding point to Mountain Home, 28-26.

The Lady Bombers took control from the opening point of the second set, until the Lady Cyclones tied it at 8-8. But Mountain Home was able to extend its lead to 14-9, 21-15 and eventually won the set 25-18.

Down 2-0 in the third set, Russellville stormed back and took a 16-8 lead, then held Mountain Home scoreless until they were a point away from the win, 24-11. The Lady Cyclones went on to win the set 25-14.

Russellville, which got to the semifinals by beating Sheridan (25-13, 25-13, 25-14) and Benton (25-17, 25-20, 26-24), took the lead at 4-3, led by as many as 14-8 and never trailed until it was 25-18.

Mountain Home, which defeated Lake Hamilton (25-17, 25-23, 25-23) to get to the semifinals, never led in the fifth and deciding set. The Lady Bombers tied the Lady Cyclones 2-2, then had to fight back from a 13-8 deficit and pulled within 13-12, but Russellville held off the surge and won 15-13 to earn a berth in the state volleyball match for the first time since 2006 — the year the Lady Cyclones won the Class 7A championship at Cabot High School.

Look for more on Russellville’s state title match in Saturday’s edition of The Courier.